"You think the world gives two shits if there's a point or not? Keep that up and it'll break you."
I think this game does some things a lot better than 0 could but I also can't help but feel as if 0 holds this one down a little too and it's hard to really imagine if this game would have been as enjoyable if I had played it before 0. It's quite hard to give it a definitive ranking because of this so let me explain why.
I think gameplay wise, this was much better than 0 without even having to feel that different. I just found the styles to be a lot easier to use and cycle between and the combat felt a lot more varied, however the bosses were not as innovative as 0 and a lot of them I felt were poorly made. The few actual bosses we do have do sort of out weigh the "bosses" you encounter every so often, but the impact just doesn't feel as good until you reach the final boss (spoilers.)
There was one boss in particular that I found easy (as was most of these), but the design was just incredibly fucking stupid constantly stunlocking and spamming with grenades + guns, it was the only bosses in the game I got frustrated with because of how much of a boss fight it didn't really feel like. It felt more like I was fighting the two goons that came back from being KO'ed than the actual boss itself, but I digress.
I think what helps elevate the combat here is the Majima Everywhere mechanic. It leaves a lot more room for you to actually pay attention to getting new styles with skill points especially considering you won't be getting rid of much of your bank just to be able to fight more varied. I really enjoyed facing off with Majima so many times and I honestly think he was the highlight of this title which brings me to the narrative...
It's not as good as 0, but it is by no means bad. I quite enjoyed the story but I didn't feel like it was as exhilarating... like, nothing really happened for 6 chapters, which was fine in itself. I didn't mind the character moments and seeing the relationship between Kiryu and Haruka grow, I also quite liked seeing the mini cutscenes before each chapter delving into what happened to Nishki while Kiryu was away, I think those were some of the best story moments here. But, yeah, great story but it just doesn't quite live up to 0. It fails a bit in reusing certain cliches (like dead body decoys) that, given I had already experienced in 0, made me predict certain plot twists. I think what saves the story though is how well written the other parts were. Kazama, Kiryu, Nishki, Haruka, Date... they were all interesting characters still with some returning who were already interesting, but given development here that really made them shine more than their 0 counterparts. One of the main gripes I had with 0 was the fact that I enjoyed Majima more than Kiryu, thankfully here I enjoyed them both equally. I also really enjoyed the latter half of the game and the first few chapters themselves were also pretty good, but in the end it was just missing something and I can't quite put my finger on what.
However, I am willing to acknowledge the fact that this is a remake and at that, not a full rewrite of the original story, so I feel as if the expectations I had for this to be greater than 0 were doomed to fall before they were even put into place because, in certain respects, this is RGG's first try at a Yakuza game... so I have to cut some slack where it's due and on that note acknowledge that it is very much good for what it is.
In the end, it's overall still a great game with some issues that can only really be chalked up to the fact that it's a remake of an entry point to (at the time) an undeveloped franchise. I would still recommend it, especially as a back-to-back experience with Yakuza 0, because this game really benefits quite a bit from it's prequel.
I think this game does some things a lot better than 0 could but I also can't help but feel as if 0 holds this one down a little too and it's hard to really imagine if this game would have been as enjoyable if I had played it before 0. It's quite hard to give it a definitive ranking because of this so let me explain why.
I think gameplay wise, this was much better than 0 without even having to feel that different. I just found the styles to be a lot easier to use and cycle between and the combat felt a lot more varied, however the bosses were not as innovative as 0 and a lot of them I felt were poorly made. The few actual bosses we do have do sort of out weigh the "bosses" you encounter every so often, but the impact just doesn't feel as good until you reach the final boss (spoilers.)
There was one boss in particular that I found easy (as was most of these), but the design was just incredibly fucking stupid constantly stunlocking and spamming with grenades + guns, it was the only bosses in the game I got frustrated with because of how much of a boss fight it didn't really feel like. It felt more like I was fighting the two goons that came back from being KO'ed than the actual boss itself, but I digress.
I think what helps elevate the combat here is the Majima Everywhere mechanic. It leaves a lot more room for you to actually pay attention to getting new styles with skill points especially considering you won't be getting rid of much of your bank just to be able to fight more varied. I really enjoyed facing off with Majima so many times and I honestly think he was the highlight of this title which brings me to the narrative...
It's not as good as 0, but it is by no means bad. I quite enjoyed the story but I didn't feel like it was as exhilarating... like, nothing really happened for 6 chapters, which was fine in itself. I didn't mind the character moments and seeing the relationship between Kiryu and Haruka grow, I also quite liked seeing the mini cutscenes before each chapter delving into what happened to Nishki while Kiryu was away, I think those were some of the best story moments here. But, yeah, great story but it just doesn't quite live up to 0. It fails a bit in reusing certain cliches (like dead body decoys) that, given I had already experienced in 0, made me predict certain plot twists. I think what saves the story though is how well written the other parts were. Kazama, Kiryu, Nishki, Haruka, Date... they were all interesting characters still with some returning who were already interesting, but given development here that really made them shine more than their 0 counterparts. One of the main gripes I had with 0 was the fact that I enjoyed Majima more than Kiryu, thankfully here I enjoyed them both equally. I also really enjoyed the latter half of the game and the first few chapters themselves were also pretty good, but in the end it was just missing something and I can't quite put my finger on what.
However, I am willing to acknowledge the fact that this is a remake and at that, not a full rewrite of the original story, so I feel as if the expectations I had for this to be greater than 0 were doomed to fall before they were even put into place because, in certain respects, this is RGG's first try at a Yakuza game... so I have to cut some slack where it's due and on that note acknowledge that it is very much good for what it is.
In the end, it's overall still a great game with some issues that can only really be chalked up to the fact that it's a remake of an entry point to (at the time) an undeveloped franchise. I would still recommend it, especially as a back-to-back experience with Yakuza 0, because this game really benefits quite a bit from it's prequel.